Time Lost"
by Celeste Nightshade
Summary: A shortie about Neville! Sometimes, you do things that you regret, and all that's left is time lost.


author's note: I don't own the rights to Harry Potter. So just enjoy!  
  
"Time Lost"   
  
It was a warm, plesant summer night, nothing could have gone wrong....in this  
particular house, it seemed as if the world had finally set itself to rights again. The father sat  
down by a fan to read the newspaper, he kept on telling himself nothing could go wrong. His  
two year old son fiddled with his wand, now and then making a pillow fly off the couch and  
across the room.   
The door burst open with a suddeness that made the child scream......four figures, their faces  
hidden stared down at the man and his son.  
"Where is he?" one of the figures demanded, a female voice.  
"You know, you've been looking for him, where is he, where is our Lord?" another  
voice screeched, holding a wand to the man. Who stood his ground, guarding the sobbing  
child.  
From the kitchen, a plate crashed to the floor, a skinny woman was rooted to the spot  
where she stood, eyes going wide with terror. Moments later, all hell broke loose, wands  
sparked in red light, there was screaming, man, woman and child.........  
Neville woke with a start, the cutrians on his four poster blocking all light. He was  
panting hard, and without even looking at a calander, he knew what day it was. The only  
day he had that dream was on a day he'd gladly let Prof. Snape erase from his mind. It was  
November 13, the day he had lost his parents forever.  
Morning light flooded into the boy's dormatory, and the rest of it's occupants began to wake  
from a night of undisturbed slumber.  
"Neville, come on. You don't want to be late for breakfast do you? Neville?" Dean  
Thomas pulled back the curtians curiously, the bed was neatly made and empty. One by  
one, the common room of Gyfindor tower filled. The sight that they beheld was strange, even  
for being students at Hogwarts. Neville was spead-eagle on the carpet infront of the hearth,  
fully dressed but also completely asleep.  
"Longbottom, wakey-wakey," Seamus Finnigan knelt and gave the boy a gentle  
shake. His eyes opened gingerly.  
"Wha? oh, morning Seamus." he sat up, glancing around tiredly. The intire common  
room was fixed on him, staring expectantly. Neville pulled himself up-right, streched and  
promptly went down to breakfast.  
"Pass the porridge, will you Harry?" Neville scooped some into his bowl and passed  
the pot down. He wasn't hungry though, as if nothing in the world could get him to eat, he  
desided to read up on their next lesson in Herbology, easily his best feild.  
None of the boys could help but stare, even Harry Potter, who prided himself in  
going a week without sneaking around Hogwarts in the dead of night. It was as if that  
morning hadn't happened, like it was just another day in the boring life of Neville  
Longbottom.  
"Are you alright?" a voice startled Neville out of the "Wonderful World of Witch  
Hazel."  
"Yes, Dean, I'm fine, why do you ask?" his nose was back in the book.  
"Well, it's just, you look a little pale. And you're not eating, so ya wanna let us in on  
the secret?" Dean took a seat next to him, taking the book out of Neville's tiny hands.  
"Look, I'm perfectly fine....nothing wrong, in fact, I'm hungry just now so, g'day."  
Neville couldn't have eaten faster if he were fed via intrveinious needle. Dean, shaking his  
head, left.  
By the end of Herbology, Neville was feeling rather proud of himself, having earned  
Gryfindor fourty points. So going into Potions with a renewed spirit, he thougt he could  
handle anything Snape could throw at him.  
"Five points from Gryfindor, Longbottom, you are the most sorry excuse for a student I have  
ever seen in my life." the Slytherin's snikered as Neville began to tremble with rage and fear.   
Everyone thought that he was scared of Snape because he was a coward, but it wasn't that in  
the slightest. Neville was different, he could do something that his other classmates could  
not. And it was all due to his father being an auror, he could sence power.  
Snape's power reaked with evil, something he had only felt one other time in his life,  
November 13, thirteen years ago.  
"Slimeball.....ugly git, oh if I could only have some Devil's Snare right now.." for  
the rest of the class, Neville began to think of all the things he could do to Snape if the  
rescources were available.  
Divination was a little better, he was hoping he would find himself killing Snape in  
the near future. No such luck however, the only thing he got to hear was fifty-second  
consecutive prediction of Harry Potter's death.  
"My dear, unexpected things will happen to you, something that reaches into your  
past will return." said Prof. Treleany in her drawling voice as she stared at Neville's palm.  
He was trying to twist and writhe away from her grip, her nails were cutting him.   
"Right, right, can you let go now? You're cutting off the blood flow to my fingers."  
he could hear Harry and Ron lauhging under their table behind him. The bell rang, and the  
class exited the stuffy, perfumed room. Upon going to Transfiguration, he almost tripped  
when that same evil feeling came over him.  
"Having trouble Longbottom?"  
Just then, every snide remark Snape had ever made in his benefit came welling to the surface  
of Neville's mind....  
"You were there! I know you were there!" he suddenly screamed, making several  
students jump in surprize.  
"Excuse me?" Snape was rather confused, giving Neville a disaproving look.  
"You were one of the Death Eaters that attacked my parents! I'll never forget that  
voice. You said ' You know, you're looking for him! Where is he? Where is our Lord?!"   
Snape went pale - well, paler than normal- after the boy stopped speaking. He grabed  
Neville violently hard by his arm and led him into his office two flights of stairs down.  
"I didn't have a choice, but I do not expect you to understand that...." began Snape,  
forcing Neville into a seat. "I was forced to do many things that could have gotten me put in  
Azkaban-"  
"AND YOU GOT AWAY WITH IT!! Just like you got away when thoes four were  
charged with torturing my parents!" tears poured down Neville's face, he rubbed his sore  
arm.  
It was clear that the professor was struggling not to yell.  
"I was a spy, Mr. Longbottom, do not think that I enjoyed doing....what I did to your  
parents, Frank and I were good friends and you know that. He was my informant, before it  
happened, I tried to go ahead of the others to warn your father. But Crouch wouldn't let me.  
He suspected me, that's why, and that's why I'm in more danger than even Harry Potter."  
Neville was silent, wiping the tears on the sleeve of his robe, Snape smiled smugly.  
"But you still did it. Couldn't you have run, or fought them off until the Ministry  
arrived?" questioned Neville after a moments silence. Snape sighed, his expression became  
distant and regretful.  
"The thought had passed my mind at the time, but it was over to quickly. It was I  
who saved you Mr. Longbottom, I begged Crouch not to hurt you......to prove that I was  
loyal, he made me....."  
"Crucio....right?" Neville finished for him. Snaped nodded grimly.  
"I've hated myself ever since, Neville, but I'm not ashamed. I took up the job and I  
was only trying to help you."   
The boy gave Snape a look that was pure acid, "You crippled their minds! Thanks to you,  
they don't even know who I am!"   
"Leave Mr. Longbottom.....I've told you the truth, now leave." Snape growled,  
pointing to the door with his wand, it swung open slowly.  
"Thank you sir..."   
Neville made his way cautiously to the door, daring one last look at Snape, who stared  
blankly out of his window.  
"You're welcome Neville."  
End   
  



End file.
